Endoscopic System and Methods Having Real-Time Medical Imaging

1. A system for enhancing abnormality detected by an endoscopist during an endoscopic procedure, the system comprising: an endoscopy system having an endoscope including a lens, the endoscopy system configured to output a video stream of an interior surface of an organ; a monitor having a first window; an electronic memory having instructions stored therein, the instructions including a 3D reconstruction module and a display module; and a processor operationally coupled to the endoscopy system and the monitor, the processor configured to access the electronic memory and execute the instructions stored therein such that: the 3D reconstruction module: analyzes frames of the video stream to generate slices, each slice capturing only image pixels corresponding to an image plane disposed a predetermined incremental depth from the lens; and concatenates adjacent consecutive slices to generate in, at least near real time, a 3D model of the interior surface; and the display module renders an image of the 3D model for viewing in the first window, wherein the image facilitates navigation of the endoscope by the endoscopist within the organ.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprises a navigation module and the processor further is configured to execute the navigation module to generate navigational indicia for the endoscopist, the navigational indicia overlaid on the image of the 3D model rendered by the display module.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the monitor includes a second window that displays the video stream of the interior surface of an organ, the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprises an artificial intelligence module, and the processor further is configured to execute the artificial intelligence module to search for features in the video stream indicative of tissue abnormalities and to generate an overlay for display in the second window indicative of a presence of tissue abnormalities.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the monitor includes a third window, the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprises a conformal mapping module and the processor further is configured to execute the conformal mapping module to generate a 2D flat image of the interior surface of the organ, and wherein the display module is configured to display the 2D flat image in the third window.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the artificial intelligence module is configured to search for features in the 2D flat image indicative of tissue abnormalities and to generate an overlay for display in the third window indicative of a presence of tissue abnormalities.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein 3D reconstruction model and conformal mapping modules provide bijective correspondence between the 3D model and 2D flat image.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the monitor includes a fourth window for displaying patient specific information.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a mass storage device operationally coupled to the processor, wherein the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprise a storage and indexing module configured for storing the 3D model in the mass storage device at a conclusion of the endoscopic procedure.

9. The system of claim 3 , further comprising a mass storage device operationally coupled to the processor, wherein the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprise a storage and indexing module configured for storing the 3D model in the mass storage device at a conclusion of the endoscopic procedure.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the artificial intelligence module further is configured to retrieve a prior 3D model from a previous endoscopic procedure, compare the prior 3D model to a current 3D model generated during a current endoscopic procedure, and generate for display in the first window an overlay highlighting differences between the prior 3D model and the current 3D model.

11. A system for enhancing abnormality detected by an endoscopist during an endoscopic procedure, the system comprising: an endoscopy system having an endoscope including a lens, the endoscopy system configured to output a video stream of an interior surface of an organ; a monitor having first and second windows; an electronic memory having instructions stored therein, the instructions including a 3D reconstruction module, a conformal mapping module and a display module; and a processor operationally coupled to the endoscopy system and the monitor, the processor configured to access the electronic memory and execute the instructions stored therein such that: the 3D reconstruction module: analyzes frames of the video stream to generate slices, each slice capturing only image pixels corresponding to an image plane disposed a predetermined incremental depth from the lens; and concatenates adjacent consecutive slices to generate in, at least near real time, a 3D model of the interior surface; the conformal mapping module analyzes the video stream to generate a 2D flat image of the interior surface, and the display module renders an image of the 3D model for viewing in the first window and the displays the 2D flat image in the second window, wherein at least one of the image or 2D flat image facilitates navigation of the endoscope by the endoscopist within the organ.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprises a navigation module and the processor further is configured to execute the navigation module to generate navigational indicia for the endoscopist, the navigational indicia overlaid on the image of the 3D model rendered by the display module.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprises a navigation module and the processor further is configured to execute the navigation module to generate navigational indicia for the endoscopist, the navigational indicia overlaid on the image of the 2D flat image displayed by the display module.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the monitor includes a third window that displays the video stream of the interior surface of an organ, the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprises an artificial intelligence module, and the processor further is configured to execute the artificial intelligence module to search for features in the video stream indicative of tissue abnormalities and to generate an overlay for display in the third window indicative of a presence of tissue abnormalities.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the artificial intelligence module is configured to search for features in the 2D flat image indicative of tissue abnormalities and to generate an overlay for display in the second window indicative of a presence of tissue abnormalities.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein 3D reconstruction model and conformal mapping modules provide bijective correspondence between the 3D model and 2D flat image.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the monitor includes a fourth window for displaying patient specific information.

18. The system of claim 11 , further comprising a mass storage device operationally coupled to the processor, wherein the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprise a storage and indexing module configured for storing the 3D model and 2D flat image in the mass storage device at a conclusion of the endoscopic procedure.

19. The system of claim 14 , further comprising a mass storage device operationally coupled to the processor, wherein the instructions stored in the electronic memory further comprise a storage and indexing module configured for storing the 3D model and 2D flat image in the mass storage device at a conclusion of the endoscopic procedure.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the artificial intelligence module further is configured to retrieve a prior 2D flat image from a previous endoscopic procedure, compare the prior 2D flat image to a current 2D flat image generated during a current endoscopic procedure, and generate for display in the second window an overlay highlighting differences between the prior 2D flat image and the current 2D flat image.